|
8 November 2026
As ever, it was a great pleasure to host a stall at the 2026 Christmas Market at The Herb Farm in
Sonning Common for the past two days.
I am very grateful to David and Helen for inviting me, and for making everything run so smoothly.
There
were quite a few familiar faces, both among the vistors and among the
exhibitors, and of course plenty of very nice new faces too!
Many thanks to all those who came to see me, my Teddies and my other creatures, and to say hello.
Not all of us made it back home: I said goodbye to David, Rhys, Isla, Jasper, and
some of the Christmas Creatures. I am not worried about about any of them, as they were all adopted by extremely nice people. |
 |
5 November
 |
The final two Teddies I made for this
year's Christmas Market at The Herb Farm were
Frankie and Myles.
Frankie is very
fond of flowers and
other plants. He is collectring a herbarium, and wants to become a
botanist when he grows up.
Myles is an
explorer. He spends a lot of time on long expeditions, mostly to the
Bearents Sea and the Bearing Strait.
I have made him a woollen hat and scarf to keep him warm.
|
 |
 |
Along with all my Teddies, I am taking with me a few more new Sasha's
Bears creations, all suitable for small children.
There will be a couple of Baby Bunnies, and a whole host of
Christmas Creatures - bear cubs, rabbits and kittens. |
 |
1 November
Today I am saying goodbye to a very dear Teddy who spent quite a while being treated at Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital. David's Bear was named after his first owner, who was lost at sea during World War II - so he is well over 80 years old.
It
would take too long to describe all the procedures that David's Bear
was treated to, but the part that I am particularly proud of was the
re-creation of his original felt paw pads, the remants of which I discovered after removing the layers added over the years.
As
with many patients, I also mended David's Bear's clothes, which had
been lovingly made for him by his family many years earlier.
15 October
Two bears with very different health issues checked out of Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital in recent days.
Teddy, bought from Asquiths in Henley back in 1991,
had to have various holes and ladders stitched up, a few seams secured,
and his eyes polished.
I also gave him a good gentle clean and
completely re-stuffed him.
|
 |
 |
 |
Riley,
a traditional Dean's Hereward bear, came in with a most unusual problem: he found it
all but impossible to move his arms.
A quick examination of his joints confirmed my
suspicion, and I was soon able to remove the obstruction.
The operation only lasted an hour, and Riley was discharged, fully
healed, into the arms of his grateful owner. |
10 October
Not too many horses or ponies have been admitted to Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital over the years, but I have just had two in quick succession.
First
came Pony the working pony, whose job is to give rides to children with
special needs. Over the years, he lost an eye, and his head was
drooping because of a weak neck. This I remedied by adding plenty of
stuffing to the neck, and also gave Pony a new eye.
Almost as soon as he left, I admitted Charlie the rocking horse. His
only issue was a hole in his mane, made by mice (!) who decided to
build their nest in it (the mice declined to travel to the Hospital
with him). A short operation was successful, and Charlie returned home
with his mane as luxurious as before his trouble with mice.
8 October
A couple of patients with serious life-threatening injuries were recently admitted to Sasha's Teddy Bear Hospital this month.
30-year
old Ted was missing an arm, lost most of his stuffing through many
holes, and was complaining of blurred vision. I made Ted a new arm,
gave him nice new paw pads, mended all the holes, re-stuffed him, and
polished his eyes. Whole again and very clean, he went home to be a
surpise present from a father to his adult daughter who used to play
with Ted when she was little.
A 30-plus rabbit called Teddy arrived in Hospital in two pieces, his
head having separated from the rest of him, and his legs were hanging
by a thread too. Despite these horrific injuries, it did not take me
long to restore Teddy to his much loved original shape.
Another recent patient was not nearly as badly damaged. This Teddy,
aged about 40, was to be passed from father to a newborn baby, so
needed
a thorough clean throughout. I added some stuffing too, mended
some small holes, restored his bow tie, and made him a nightcap to
replace one he had lost earlier.
4 October
This week, two more Memory Bears have
joined an ever growing family.
Just like the earlier ones, both were made from the garments of the
late greatly missed mother, grandmother, great granmother and great
aunt of the family.
It is not obvious from the photos, but the bear on the right is tiny,
about one tenth the size of one on the left.
|
